ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot releases Braille Edition of Book “Exam Warriors” written by Prime Minister
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot released the Braille Edition of the book "Exam Warriors" authored by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi here today. The Braille Edition in Hindi and English has been prepared in the Braille Press of Rajasthan Netraheen Kalyan Sangh. This release of Braille Edition of "Exam Warriors" is taking place at an opportune time when Exams of Secondary and Higher Secondary Standards are fast approaching. All the pictures of the book have been well described for the benefit of blinds readers.
Shri Gehlot applauded the ‘Rajasthan Netraheen Kalyan Sangh’ for this exemplary work and said that with this Braille edition, millions of blind students of the country will be able to derive motivation and mental strength.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Union Environment Minister addresses the 5th Convocation of the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun
ShriJavadekarinaugurates New Guest House Building at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun
Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change , ShriPrakashJavadekar, addressed the 5thConvocation of Forest Research Institute  Deemed to be University at Dehradun today. The Minister said that it is everyone’s duty to conserve the environment and the students of forestry can lend a big hand in this endeavour. ShriJavadekar also gave a clarion call to make the conservation of forests a people’s movement. He also added that while forest officials were responsible for protection ofthe wildlife, it would not be possible without the help of the people living in the forests. On the issue of man-elephant conflict, the Minister said that we should ensure that the forests contain enough resources for the wildlife so that it is not induced to venture into the human settlements.
TheMinisterconferred62Ph.D.degreesinvariousdisciplinesofForestryand253 MastersdegreeinForestry,WoodScience&Technology,EnvironmentManagementand Cellulose and Paper technology.
ShriSiddhanta Das, Director General of Forests and Special Secretary to Govt. of India, MoEF&CC; Dr. S.C. Gairola, Chancellor, FRI and Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun and Sh. A.S. Rawat, Vice-chancellor, FRI were also present at the function.
Earlier during the day, the Minster inaugurated the new buildings of Guest House and Women’s Hostel at the Wildlife Institute of India at Dehradun. The Minister also addressed the Annual General Meeting of the Institute. The Minister of Forests and Environment for Uttarakhand, ShriHarak Singh Rawat was also present at the occasion. The Minister presided over the presentation of the annual report and the annual general meeting of the Institute.
Speaking at the occasion, ShriJavadekar outlined the importance of safeguarding the pristine natural environment for the future generations. He said that we have to chalk out a path to sustainable development which balances the demands of growth with the need to conserve our natural heritage. In this regard he appreciated the efforts by the scientific community at the Wildlife Institute of India in establishing the unique laboratory to study the genomics of wildlife. He also congratulated the scientists for their efforts in conservation of critically endangered bird, The Great IndianBustard.
Prime Minister's Office
PM approves ex-gratia from PMNRF for MP rains and floods victims
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh to be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives due to rains and floods in Madhya Pradesh. He also approved Rs. 50,000 to those injured.
A PMO tweet said, "PM @narendramodi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to rains and floods in Madhya Pradesh. Rs. 50,000 would be given to the injured."
Ministry of Railways
Indian Railways to start Computer Based Test for notified vacancies from 15th December 2020
Indian Railways is going to start computer based tests for notified vacancies from 15th December 2020.
Indian Railways had notified 3 types of vacancies. These were 35208 for NTPC , 1663 for Isolated & Ministerial categories  and 103769 for Level 1 vacancies . In all RRBs had notified a total of 1.40 lakh such vacancies for NTPC categories, Level-1 Posts and isolated and miscellaneous categories. Against the above vacancies, RRBs had received more than 2.40 crore applications. The Computer Based Test  for above vacancies had to be deferred due to Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown which was imposed throughout country.
Scrutiny of the applications had been completed but the process of further examination had got delayed due to covid related restrictions.
RRBs of Railways are committed to hold the CBT for all the notified vacancies and have been actively assessing the ground situation imposed due to pandemic. Now that experience of conduct examination for the JEE for IITs and NEET is there, it was felt that Railways too can start the process which had to be stopped due to Covid pandemic.
SOPs for conduct of examination of this magnitude are being framed. Norms of social distancing and other protocols prescribed by the various Central and State authorities need to be followed which are essential in the interest of safety of candidates.
Railway now proposes to commence 1st stage online computer based tests from 15 December, 2020 and necessary action has been initiated in this regard.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Shri Anurag Singh Thakur chairs the Summit of Ministers of Physical Education and Sports of SCO nations;
Matter of great pride for India to host Summit of SCO Members States: Sh Anurag Singh Thakur
The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India on March 15th, 2023 concluded the three-day Summit on the topic of ‘Collaboration In Sports and Physical Fitness’ with delegates from Eight Shanghai Corporation Organization  nations.
The three-day discussion was held in the national capital New Delhi, where the first two days were dedicated to discussions by the Expert Working Group of the SCO nations and on the final day, a Ministers’ meeting was held chaired by the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports  Shri Anurag Singh Thakur.
During the meeting, the Minister said that it is a matter of great pride for the MYAS to be hosting members of SCO countries, especially in the first year of Azadi Ki Amrit Kaal,  and the year where India has G20 presidency.
He then went on to add “we are excited to collaborate with SCO nations on a wide array of subjects under the aegis of sports and exchange ideas and use the expertise of each member nation to build a common platform that can help strengthen our common commitment to sports.”
He also reiterated the Prime Minister’s vision of making sports a guiding force behind India and making the country an evolving sporting nation.
The representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan  attended the discussion in person, and the representatives from China and Tajikistan connected virtually.
All the sides reaffirmed their commitment to proper implementation of international obligations on clean sport, the need for increased cooperation and organization of conferences/seminars/training programs in the field of sports education, clean sport and sports science.
They also appreciated the importance of SCO traditional physical activity such as Yoga, Wushu, etc. as a lifestyle as well as sport and acknowledged its role in improving physical fitness; the role of traditional medicine of SCO countries as an aid to sports medicine, healing and achievement of excellence in sports was also noted.
At the conclusion of the summit, the SCO members congratulated India on successfully hosting the summit and expressed their gratitude to the host nation.
President's Secretariat
President of India inaugurates Apollomedics Super Speciality Hospital in Lucknow
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the Apollomedics Super Speciality Hospital in Lucknow today .
Speaking on the occasion, the President emphasised the importance of quality and affordable healthcare in the country, and particularly in Uttar Pradesh. He pointed to the successes in meeting the challenges of traditional infectious and communicable diseases, and also to the changing disease patterns in the country that are giving rise to greater cases to non-communicable or lifestyle ailments. In this context, the President said, the Ayushman Bharat programme, launched in 2018, will go a long way in providing medical cover, especially to underprivileged citizens.
The President said that quality health for everybody was a shared goal. As such, he was happy the government, civil society, private and charitable institutions and other stakeholders were working together. The President expressed confidence that the Apollomedics Super Speciality Hospital would provide state-of-the-art medical care to the people of the state and the region at a reasonable cost.
Others who were present and spoke on the occasion included the Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Rajnath Singh, and Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group.
Click here to see President's Speech
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Union Health Secretary reviews the status of passengers coming from UK to India and found positive with 10 States/UTs where the flights from UK to India land
Shri Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, reviewed the status of passengers coming from UK to India and found positive in the States/UTs of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Goa, Punjab, Gujarat and Kerala and their response measures in a meeting held through Video Conferencing today, in the presence of DG, ICMR, Health Secretaries from the States/UT, NHM MD,Ms Arti Ahuja, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health , Dr Sujeet Singh, Director, NCDC, and other senior health officials.
The Standard Operating Procedure issued by this Ministry on 22.12.2020 for Epidemiological Surveillance and Response in the context of new variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in United Kingdom was discussed in detail in the meeting.
The States/UTs were advised to access the details of passengers from UK to India from the online portal AIR-SUVIDHA and Bureau of Immigration. States/UTs were also asked to send the samplesof those found positive to the laboratories identified for genome sequencing.
The list of six identified Laboratories along with the contact details of their nodal officers was also shared with the states. the laboratories are: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative BiologyNew Delhi; CSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad; DBT- Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar; DBT-InStem-NCBS, Bangalore;DBT-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics , Kalyani, West Bengal; ICMR- National Institute of Virology, Pune. The number of such designated labs would increase over time and their details would be shared with the States/UTs.
The concerns related to logistics etc raised by the states were clarified in the meeting. The states were also advised to co-ordinate with the respective Airport Health Offices  and surveillance officials in their state in order to ensure adherence to the SOPs.
Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Local administrations at district and village levels continue taking various measures to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country
Measures include preliminary testing of local people; creating checkposts for medical screening of persons entering and leaving the area; regular sanitization of public places and creating quarantine centres; regular inspection of procurement centres
Local administrations at district and village levels continue taking various measures to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Some initiatives which may be followed by others as examples of best practices are –
Karnataka: To carry out preliminary tests of the villagers, Gram panchayat provided thermal scanner to ASHA workers in Uyyamballi Hram Panchayat of Kanakapura Tehsil of Ramanagara district.
Punjab: Sarpanch of Hara village in Pathankot district of Punjab has been inspirational in taking potential measures to keep the Panchayat safe. She carried out door to door campaign to explain to families on preventive measures for COVID-19. She stitched face masks by herself. She closed roads linking other villages and made check posts at all entry points to the village. The government school has been converted into an isolation ward under the Sarpanch’s supervision.
Rajasthan: Initiatives taken by Gram Panchayat - Jayal in District Nagaur regarding COVID -19 pandemic.
- Sanitization: - Regular cleaning operations are being carried out and sodium hypochlorite is being sprayed in villages.
- Masks are being distributed in the Gram Panchayat.
- Ration is being distributed by the Gram Panchayat officials and the social organizations. Cooked food is being served to the homeless.
- The centers of relief materials are being inspected from time to time by higher officials.
- People are encouraged to provide cooked food and other food items to the needy people.
- Based on the advisories a quarantine centre  was set up by Gram Panchayat.
- Along with ration distribution, fodder for abandoned cattle is also being provided by a social service organization.
- Instructions given by the government to the people to stay at home for protection from corona are being publicized to reach as many people as possible using information board, loud speakers and other means.
Telangana : District Magistrates in Telangana made surprise visits to the village procurement centers to inspect any irregularities occurring at procurement centers. Yadadri and Bhainsa Collectors visited several villages to inspect the processes in first hand, and assured farmers of a transparent and accountable system for Food Grain Procurement.
Himachal Pradesh:
- Mahila mandals of Duni panchayat  are stitching face masks with their own money. These women are preparing more than 200 masks per day and distributing in the panchayat especially to the poor labourers.
- Gram Panchayat Gobang of Ropa Valley  has sanitized all the public places, and government institutions in the panchayat area. The panchayat is regularly motivating the villagers to follow the social distancing and lockdown strictly.
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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
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India’s Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 200 Cr
Over 3.79 Cr 1st dose vaccines administered for age group 12-14 years
India's Active caseload currently stands at 1,44,264
16,935 new cases reported in the last 24 hours
Recovery Rate currently stands at 98.47%
Weekly Positivity Rate is presently at 4.58%
India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 200 Cr  as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 2,63,34,227 sessions.
COVID-19 vaccination for the age group 12-14 years was started on 16 March, 2022. So far, more than 3.79 Cr  adolescents have been administered with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Similarly, the COVID-19 precaution dose administration for age group 18-59 years also started from 10th April, 2022 onwards.
The break-up of the cumulative figure as per the provisional report till 7 am today include:
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Cumulative Vaccine Dose Coverage
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HCWs
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1st Dose
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1,04,10,336
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2nd Dose
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1,00,79,797
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Precaution Dose
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60,24,487
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FLWs
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1st Dose
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1,84,27,577
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2nd Dose
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1,76,52,344
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Precaution Dose
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1,14,69,971
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Age Group 12-14 years
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1st Dose
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3,79,98,722
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2nd Dose
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2,62,25,897
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Age Group 15-18 years
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1st Dose
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6,08,48,302
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2nd Dose
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5,01,31,500
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Age Group 18-44 years
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1st Dose
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55,88,99,360
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2nd Dose
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50,59,28,479
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Precaution Dose
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64,24,565
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Age Group 45-59 years
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1st Dose
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20,35,69,720
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2nd Dose
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19,45,74,456
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Precaution Dose
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46,43,182
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Over 60 years
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1st Dose
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12,73,61,591
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2nd Dose
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12,15,80,188
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Precaution Dose
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2,82,10,621
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Precaution Dose
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5,67,72,826
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Total
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2,00,04,61,095
India’s Active Caseload currently stands at 1,44,264. Active cases now constitute 0.33% of the country's total Positive Cases.
Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.47%. 16,069 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients  is now at 4,30,97,510.
16,935 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
The last 24 hours saw a total of 2,61,470 COVID-19 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 86.96 Cr  cumulative tests.
Weekly Positivity Rate in the country currently stands at 6.48% and the Daily Positivity rate is reported to be 4.58%.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Protection of Child Rights
The Government reviewed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences  Act, 2012 in the light of the rise of incidences of child sexual abuse in the country, inter-alia. Accordingly, the POCSO Act, 2012 was amended in 2019 in order to make it more effective in dealing with cases of child sex abuse. It addresses the need for stringent measures to deter child sex abuse in the Country on one hand and the menace of relatively new kind of crimes on the other hand.
In furtherance of the POCSO  Act, 2019, the Government notified the POCSO Rules, 2020 for effective implementation of the Act.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
President's Secretariat
President of India presents Gallantry Awards
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations at the Defence Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan today .
Please click here for list of Awardees
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
EPCG Scheme Relaxed for Sectors Affected by COVID-19 Pandemic
The Indian government has announced a one-time relaxation from maintaining average export obligation and an option to extend the export obligation period for certain sectors under the Export Promotion Capital Goods  Scheme. The sectors that are eligible for this relief are the Hotel, Healthcare, and Educational sectors. For the years 2020-21 and 2021-22, these sectors will not be required to maintain average export obligation for EPCG authorizations issued to them.
These sectors will also have the option to extend the export obligation period for a longer duration, without having to pay any additional fees.
For EPCG authorizations issued for the Hotel, Healthcare and Educational sectors, the export obligation period would be extended from the date of expiry for the duration equivalent to the number of days the export obligation period falls within February 1, 2020 and March 31, 2022. This extension will be granted without payment of composition fees. However, for EPCG authorizations issued for sectors other than Hotel, Healthcare and Educational, the export obligation period may be extended for the number of days the existing export obligation period falls within February 1, 2020 and July 31, 2021. This extension will be granted without payment of composition fees, but with a 5% additional export obligation in value terms on the balance export obligation as on March 31, 2022.
This relaxation has been provided in light of the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This relief will help the Hotel, Healthcare and Educational sectors to cope with the negative impact of the pandemic on their export activities.
The Export Promotion Capital Goods  scheme is a trade promotion scheme implemented by the Indian government that allows duty-free import of capital goods for the purpose of export production in India. The scheme aims to encourage the production of goods for export by providing import duty concessions on capital goods. The EPCG scheme is administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade  and is governed by the Foreign Trade Policy of India.
Ministry of Textiles
Centre decides to lift the Price Capping of Raw Jute w.e.f. 20th May, 2022
Cap removal will help Farmers, Mills and Jute MSME sector
Decreasing trend in prices will also benefit jute goods exports which constitute about 30% of the Industry’s turnover in value terms
The Central Government after careful examination of the market dynamics of raw jute trade has lifted price cap of Rs 6500/- per quintal for TD5 grade of raw jute fixed w.e.f. 30th September, 2021 on purchase of raw jute by the Jute Mills and other end users.
Jute Commissioner Office has been collecting the information about the raw jute prices through formal and informal sources and it has found that the present prices are ruling near the capped price. As the existing prices of Raw Jute are ruling around Rs. 6500/- Govt. of India has taken a dynamic decision to lift the price capping w.e.f. 20th May, 2022.
It is expected that the cap removal will help the farmers, Mills and Jute MSME sector wherein over 7 lakhs people are dependent on the jute trade in addition to about 40 lakhs jute farmers. The decreasing trend in prices will also benefit jute goods exports which constitute about 30% of the Industry’s turnover in value terms.
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Steps taken by the government to promote Renewable Energy
The installed Renewable energy capacity  has increased from 76.37 GW in March 2014 to 150.54 GW in November 2021, i.e. an increase of around 97%.
The Government has taken several measures to promote renewable energy in the country. These include:-
• Permitting Foreign Direct Investment  up to 100 percent under the automatic route,
• Waiver of Inter State Transmission System  charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025,
• Laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity for evacuation of renewable power,
• Declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation  up to the year 2022,
• Setting up of RE parks to provide land and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play basis,
• Schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evamUtthaanMahabhiyan , Solar Rooftop Phase II, 12000 MW CPSU Scheme Phase II, etc,
• Notification of standards for deployment of solar photovoltaic system/devices,
• Setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments,
• Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects.
• Government has issued orders that power shall be dispatched against Letter of Credit  or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators.
• Green Term Ahead Market  launched to facilitate procurement of RE power through power exchange in the country.
This information was given by Shri R. K Singh, Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.